Premier League: Southampton sign Mario Lemina

Southampton have broken their transfer record to sign Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina, the deal is worth 18.1 million pounds and the player signed a five-year contract with the Saints. The 23-year-old Gabon international was a backup player at Juventus, where he made 42 appearances in two seasons after moving to Italy from Marseille. Juventus brought him in on loan in 2015 and then made the move permanent for 7.5 million pounds last summer, but the youngster was unable to become a first-team regular at the Serie A champions. Southampton will pay 15.4 million pounds upfront, but add-ons and performance bonuses could increase the spending to at most 18.1 million pounds. Lemina is the second signing of the summer for manager Mauricio Pellegrino after the transfer of Poland Under-21 defender Jan Bednarek from Lech Poznan for 5 million pounds in July. The previous transfer record for the Saints was Moroccan attacking midfielder Sofiane Boufal, who joined from Lille for 16 million pounds in the summer of 2016. Southampton vice-chairman Les Reed said that the signing of Lemina is a "significant statement of intent from the club" and added that the Gabonese youngster is an "outstanding talent. In a volatile market with some extraordinary and inexplicable transfers taking place, we are determined to go about our work in a diligent and correct way. This is a player who has won trophies and played in the Champions League final less than three months ago and he has signed for Saints amid a host of suitors." Southampton are 9/2 at Bet365 to finish inside the Premier League top six next season.